Map

Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVE HANOI

Upon your arrival at Noi Bai airport via flight ??? at ?h, you’ll be greeted by Lotussia local guide and driver then escorted to your hotel in town. Check-in hotel (*) and stay free at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi.

DAY 2: HANOI -> MAI CHAU

Breakfast at hotel. We will have a half day city tour of Vietnam’s capital. Hanoi is a unique city with tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes and oriental temples. The city tour includes such sights as the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature – The first National University of Vietnam and the Ethlology museum where you can find the biggest object collection of 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups. Lunch will be provided in a local restaurant in town. After lunch, we will leave Hanoi for Hoa Binh province and up then to Mai Chau valley. This scenic drive takes around four hours. Along the way we pass fields of tapioca and sugar cane as well as rice paddies. Upon arriving in Mai Chau valley, we take a short walk around Lac & Poom Coong villages to have the first experience of the White Thai community local life and their culture. In the evening, assist to the traditional music and dance show which is performed by the Thai young girls and boys who all come from the village. We will try some rice wine made of traditional plants and local sticky rice. Overnight in a stilt-house.

DAY 3: MAI CHAU -> NINH BINH

Breakfast at the Thai stilt house then we leave the village for a half day hiking around. We will pass different Thai hamlets, through rice fields, hill sides…Stop sometimes to visit local houses and talk with local people. The highlight of this walk is to experience the everyday life and the culture of the Thai ethnic group. We will arrive back to the village around noon. Have lunch then travel to Tam Coc. Arrive in Tam Coc about late afternoon. Check-in hotel. Dinner is provided either in the hotel or in a local restaurant in Tam Coc. Overnight in Tam Coc.

DAY 4: NINH BINH -> HANOI -> LAO CAI

Enjoy a boat trip cruising through limonestome mountains of Tam Coc. The river trip in Tam coc is wonderful for photo hunters, especially when local people come to harvest the water rice planted along the river, or when they transplant some seedling for the next crops. The tourists often compare the place with Guilin – China, or more closely, to the limestone islets of Halong Bay in the Tonkin Gulf for their similar geological structures and shapes. Thus Tam Coc is also called Halong-Bay-On-Land. After the boat trip (1.5h), we will get on our vehicle and move to Kenh Ga (“Chicken Canal”). Set on the banks of the Hoang Long River, Kenh Ga is a remarkable place, not only because it is surrounded by the same massive rocks that dominate Hoa Lu, but also because for most of the year the entire community lives on the water itself. Upon our arrival in Kenh Ga, we begin our 2-hour cycling along the Hoang Long river. We will cycle through typical Vietnamese rural villages. We will arrive in Van Long around noon. We have lunch in a local restaurant in Van Long then travel back to Hanoi. Enjoy one-hour body massage in one of the most finest spa salon in town – A full body massage both invigorating and relaxing. This massage helps to reduce tension, soothe sore muscles and increase circulation. In the evening, transfer to Hanoi Railway station for overnight train to Laocai. Train ??? departure at ???(to be advised). Overnight on the train.

DAY 5: LAO CAI -> SAPA

Arrive Laocai Railway station early this morning, at about 5:30am (to be advised). You will be greeted by Lotussia local team and transferred uphill to Sapa. Breakfast will be provided in a local restaurant in town. 9.00: Transfer to the Mong Sen Bridge with stops along the way for enjoying spectacular landscapes. Trekking uphill along large dirt road for nearly an hour, then following a narrow dirt trail winding its way on steep hill-sides along the western bank of the upstream part of Ngoi Dum River for 2 hours to an isolated hamlet of the Black H’mong people, explore these isolated hamlets of the Black H’mong, then lunch break. After lunch, we continue trekking along the same trail for nearly 1,5 hours up and downhill towards Ta Phin Valley and arrive at the center of Ta Phin Commune in mid afternoon. Take a walk around this stunning valley, paying visit to some Red Zao families, then picked up for a road ride back to Sapa.

DAY 6: SAPA -> LAO CAI -> HANOI

Breakfast and leave Ta Phin at 09.00. We will walk for 2 hours through several hamlets of the H’mong scattering on hill-sides. Continue gradually uphill 1 hour to Ma Cha, another village of the H’mong and then trek through the Ma Cha Valley. This valley is close to Sapa Town but very quiet and the peoples here are still living their own way without influence of tourism. After lunch, the trail gets larger and gradually uphill through the Suoi Ho Valley featered with narrow terraced paddies and later pine plantation, fruit, vegetable & artichoke gardens. We will be picked up again by our vehicle and transferred to Sapa. Two-hour day use will be provided in mini/standard hotel for quick shower. Transfer to Laocai Railway station for overnight train back to Hanoi. Train??? Departure at ??? (to be advised). Overnight on the train.

DAY 7: HANOI -> HALONG BAY -> HANOI

We will arrive in Hanoi in the early morning. Met up again by Lotussia local guide and driver and transferred to a local restaurant for early breakfast then depart to Halong. Enjoy 3.5 hour drive through the fertile flood plains of the Red River Delta to Ha Long City. Once at Ha Long City we board our private boat for a five-hour cruise of this stunning area, stopping along the way to visit one of the limestone caves in the bay. There will also be time for a swim in the bay’s emerald waters (if weather permits). Whilst on board, you will be served a delicious local seafood lunch. Return to shore and back to Hanoi. Arrive Hanoi around late afternoon. In the evening, attend to the water puppet show, one of famous Vietnamese traditional art. Overnight in Hanoi.

DAY 8: HANOI -> SAIGON

Transfer to Hanoi airport for the morning flight to Saigon (the first flight in the morning. Departure at 6:00 (to be advised). Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh city airport, you will be met by Lotussia local team and transferred to the city center. Enjoy a half day city tour with Ho Chi Minh City highlights including the Post Office, cathedral, Reunification palace, centre town, then continuation towards Cholon, visit Thien Hau temple and Binh Tay market. Lunch will be provided in a local restaurant in town. In the afternoon, visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh city around late afternoon. Check-in hotel for overnight.

DAY 9: DEPARTURE

Breakfast at hotel. Free time till transfer to the airport for your onward flight back home. End.

If you are the type of person who dreams of doing exciting things but never quite does, an adventure holiday could be just the thing for you. Lotussia Travel trips are tailored to suit and come with lots of information. You are never quite on your own but you still have the freedom to do new things, such as cycle somewhere new, walk a new route or visit new and exciting places.